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Kongjwi and Patjwi (Hangul: 콩쥐 팥쥐, also
romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as "Kongjui and Patjui") is a traditional
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
story from the
Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
. It is the story of humble Kongji's triumph over adversity. The
moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...
of the story is that virtuous people who think positively and work diligently will be happy, encapsulating the Western
proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
"heaven helps those who help themselves."


Plot summary

A childless couple was blessed with a very beautiful baby girl, whom they named Kongji. Her mother died when Kongjwi was 100 days old. She grew up with her father. The man remarried again when Kongji was fourteen years old. To replace his wife, he found a cruel widow who had a very ugly daughter named Patjwi. Her father eventually died. From that time on-wards, the
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Ste ...
and Patjwi treated Kongjwi very unfairly. They starved her, dressed her in rags and forced her to do all the dirtiest work in the house. One day, the stepmother forced Kongjwi to plow a field with a wooden hoe. The hoe soon broke, leaving Kongjwi in tears, for fear that her step-mother would beat her again. A cow appeared and comforted her. He plowed the field in her place and sent Kongjwi home with a basket of apples, a gift from the cow. Her stepmother accused her of stealing the apples, gave the entire basket to Patjwi, and refused to give Kongjwi her supper. The next day, the stepmother gave Kongjwi an enormous pot with a hole in the bottom and told her she must fill it with water before she and Patjwi returned home from town. Kongjwi kept bringing baskets of water, but the pot was never filled. The water leaked out from the hole. A tortoise appeared and blocked the hole for her. With his help, Kongjwi filled the pot with water. The stepmother was even angrier. She spanked Kongjwi black and blue. After a time, the Magistrate announced that he was looking for a wife. A dance would be given in his honor and every maiden was to attend. Kongjwi and Patjwi were invited. The stepmother was hopeful that Patjwi would be the lucky one, but afraid that Kongjwi would spoil her own daughter's chance. Before they left, the stepmother gave Kongjwi a huge sack of rice to hull, which she had to accomplish before they returned from the dance. Kongjwi asked for help from the heavens, and a flock of sparrows appeared and hulled the rice. A Celestial maiden came down from heaven and dressed Kongjwi in a beautiful gown and a delicate pair of colorful shoes. She was transported to the palace by four men in a magnificent
palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...
. Kongjwi hurried towards the dance. Everyone admired her because of her beauty. The Magistrate went to her to ask her name. But when Kongjwi saw her stepmother and stepsister among the guests, she fled with terror. Patjwi remarked to her mother that the strange girl looked like her Kongjwi. As Kongjwi crossed a bridge, she tripped. One of her shoes fell into the stream. The Magistrate found the shoe and vowed to marry the woman it belonged to. Servants tried the shoe on every woman in the land, until they arrived in Kongjwi's village. It fit no one except Kongjwi. She was the last to try the shoe. Then, she produced her clothes and the other pair of her shoes. The Magistrate and Kongjwi were married. Patjwi was jealous of Kongjwi's marriage and drowned her in a river. Patjwi disguised herself as Kongjwi to live with the Magistrate. Kongjwi's spirit would haunt anyone in the river. A brave man confronted her ghost and she told him everything. The man reported this to the Magistrate, and the Magistrate went into the river. Instead of a dead body, he retrieved a golden lotus. He kissed the lotus and it turned into Kongjwi. The Magistrate sentenced Patjwi and her mother to be punished. Kongjwi and Magistrate lived happily ever after. The moral of this story is that those who are kind and persevering shall be rewarded.


Features

The legend of Kongji and Patzzi was passed down orally for many generations before it was first recorded, producing numerous regional variations. For example, some versions of the story cast a frog in place of the turtle as Kongji's helper, whil
others
have been reduced to the
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
-esque first portion. Although the first part of the story shares elements with the Western
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
, the traditional Korean belief of ''kwon seon jing ak'' (권선징악), the importance of encouraging virtue and punishing vice, pervades the traditional tale coming to fruition with the deserved deaths of Kongji's stepmother and stepsister in the second part of the story. The tale shares similarities with the more general tale type ATU 510, "The Persecuted Heroine", of the international system of Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, but merits its own classification in the Korean tale index as type KT 450.Tangherlini, Timothy R. “Korean Folk-Tales. By James Riordan. Oxford Myths and Legends. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. 133 Pp. $10.95 (Paper)”. In: ''The Journal of Asian Studies'' 54, no. 3 (1995): 857. doi:10.2307/2059476.


Setting

Although the story itself contains fantastic elements, its setting is believed to be the real-life village of Dunsan, Keumgu Township,
Gimje Gimje () (''Gimje-si'') is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. History The Gimje area is located on the "great plains" of Korea and has been cultivated since ancient times. Nations of early date ascended in the year 200. The Baekje Kingd ...
-si (김제시 금구면 둔산마을). Both Dunsan village and the village in which the novel ''Kongji and Patzzi'' is set are shaped like a cow. The turtle which blocked the hole in Kongji's pot is associated with Dunsan's turtle rock. People say that Kongji dropped her shoes in Duwol (두월) brook outside Dunsan.


Adaptations

*''Opera'' Composer: Kim Dai-Hyun (1917 ~), 『 Kongji Patji 』 4 Acts First Performance :1951. 12. 20. Busan Theater. Length : 2hours 30minutes *''Popular Music'' "Heavy-metal Kongji" by Cherry Filter *''Film'' "Kongjwi Patjwi" (1958), directed by Yun Bong-Chun.
"Kongjwi Patjwi" (1967), directed by Jo Keung-Ha. *''Television'' "
My Love Patzzi ''My Love, Patzzi'' () is a 2002 South Korean television series starring Jang Na-ra, Kim Rae-won, Kim Jaewon and Hong Eun-hee. It aired on MBC from August 26 to September 24, 2002 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for ten episodes. Plot This ...
" (2006–2007), produced by Lee Jin-Suk.
" All My Love" (2010–2011), produced by Kwon Ik Joon


References

*Lee Kwanil (1971). Kongji and Patzzi. Kunkuk University. *Kim Jakwon (1981). Kumku euipji. Dauheung Press. *Lee Wonsu (1997). The Study of Kongji Patzzi. Kyungnam University. * * {{Cinderella Korean folklore Korean fairy tales Joseon dynasty works ATU 500-559